The action movie directed by Jennifer Lopez The Mother premieres of Netflix IT Friday, May 12. Ahead of its release, ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with director Niki Caro (Mulan) about the movie and his approach in action.
“A deadly female assassin comes out of hiding to protect the daughter she abandoned years ago, while running from dangerous men,” reads the logline.
What really impressed me was that I never thought of Jennifer Lopez as a big action star, but she is completely up for the task here. What convinced you that he would really succeed in this role and be a great fit for this character?
Niki Caro: See, this is his legendary skill and precision as a physical performer. But it’s also how deeply talented she is as a dramatic actress, and the role calls for both.
What is so interesting about this film is that every action is very different. Can you talk about using different locations to tell this overall story that is complete thematically but feels very different in each part?
I was really drawn to the kind of epic scale of it and the global nature of the story. So we have to be in Afghanistan and Cuba and the United States and Alaska, of course, for the snow. So the big challenge in making a film is to find all the locations in a short amount of time. But I think about watching the movie, for me, I want the movie to continue to grow as it goes on. So that every action sequence has to be followed by a bigger or more surprising action sequence over and over to really grab the audience’s attention.
I really enjoyed all the action scenes throughout, so I’m curious what your kind of approach to action is because it’s so visceral. You’re not afraid to go for violence in places, which is really fun to watch. So can you talk about how you approach the act?
How I approached the action in this particular film was so that all the action would be true to the character. We are talking about a character who is a mother as a main protection force, also a combat veteran and a skilled sniper. So he brings all the characteristics of the character into the action, so that the action is designed around the ideas.
For me personally, I love designing action sequences. I love working with stunt coordinators and directors to make those sequences as exciting and thrilling and visceral and real as possible. So they’re not just bang, bang, bang, bang. It’s great, but they’re all anchored to the character’s point of view and purpose at all times. I like that.
What did you find most interesting about this movie’s exploration of motherhood in a particular setting?
It is endlessly interesting and fascinating to me and Jennifer, who are both mothers, we of teenage children. It seems brave and dangerous to put a mother front and center because… Usually, when we think about mothers in movies, when you imagine where they are, they’re usually in the kitchen or the store or the car. It’s great, it’s really satisfying to have a mom front and center in a global action movie doing the thing I relate to the most as a mom, which is protecting my kids.
ComingSoon thanks Niki Caro for taking the time for us The Mother interview.